External Research Schemes

External Research Activities supported by the Reserve Bank through the Development Research Group

The Development Research Group (DRG) was constituted in the Reserve Bank (hereafter the ‘Bank’) as part of the Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR) in November 1991, with the objective of undertaking quick and effective policy-oriented research, backed by strong analytical and empirical formulations, on subjects of current interest. Through the DRG, the Bank provides financial support to individual researchers/experts and universities/research institutions to facilitate theoretical and quantitative research and teaching/training in economics, banking, finance and other subjects of interest to the Bank. The Bank provides financial support for following research activities:

I. RBI Professorial Chairs and Corpus Fund

The Reserve Bank has instituted RBI Professorial Chairs in premier universities and research institutions in India with the major objective to promote excellence in research and learning in the areas relevant to the Bank’s work. Under the scheme, the Bank sets up a corpus fund in the respective university/research institute with a legally enforceable contract. The contract signed by the Bank with respective institutions for establishment of RBI Chairs, provides autonomy to the institutions/Chair Professors in their day-to-day work. The concerned Institute shall have to maintain a separate account for the corpus fund, and, form an investment committee to invest the amount under the corpus fund managed by it as per the guidelines in the contract. The interest earnings from the corpus funds have to be utilised for research and teaching activities, and not for the development of infrastructure. The concerned institute needs to submit the audited ‘utilisation certificate’ detailing income and expenditure of the corpus fund. The broad criteria for sanctioning a RBI Professorial Chair are:

The subject area of specialisation available in the university/research institute should be of interest to the Bank;

The university/research institute should be reputed with a good track record of academic research and publications;

The university/research institute should have facilities for training of research students; and

The university/research institute should have facilities for training of research students

The regular Chair Professors have been contributing to research and policymaking in terms of published research work as journal articles, working research papers and books, preparing project reports for government/public sector bodies, and organizing conferences, besides imparting knowledge to the students in the country, in their specialized areas, through teaching.

II. Financial support for Publication of Research Journals

The Reserve Bank provides financial support to non-profit professional societies/research associations for meeting a part of the cost incurred by them in publishing their Journals covering disciplines like economics, econometrics and allied subjects. Financial support is extended for bringing out publications in diverse areas like demography, agricultural economics, agricultural marketing, health economics, econometrics, development economics, monetary economics etc.

Application submission

Any non-profit academic/research institution is eligible to apply to the Bank for financial grant for publication only once in a financial year.

Details to be submitted in the application

The Bank should be given the following details for scrutiny of applications from institutions seeking funding for publications of research journals:

Name of the Institution
Non-profit Institution or not
Name of the Journal
Date of the publication
List of co-Sponsors
Exact budget estimates for the publication (covering details on various major heads, and amount committed by other sponsors).

About Co-sponsor

As the Bank provides only part of the cost of publication after scrutiny, no application will be entertained without any co-sponsors or commitment or indication from the publisher to spend money from own sources.

Compliances

Institution is required to submit utilisation certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant within one month from the date of the release of the said publication, along with two copies of the publication.
In case of non-compliance, the Bank will reserve the right to reject future requests.

III. Financial Support for Conferences/Seminars/Workshops

The Reserve Bank provides financial support to professional bodies/research associations and also to universities/research institutions for holding seminars/conferences/workshops (henceforth event) in areas which are of relevance to the Bank.

Indicative Guidelines

Any academic research institution is eligible to apply for the grant only once in a financial year (April-March).
All requests should be submitted at least two months before the date of the event.

Details to be submitted in the application

The Reserve Bank may seek the following information from the institutions for considering grant for the event:

Name of the institution holding the seminar/workshop/conference.
Title of the event.
Themes and objectives of the proposed event.
Number of expected participants/ invitees/experts/panelists.
Date/Duration of the event.
Venue of the event.
List of Co-sponsors.
- External Co-sponsors
- Internal Co-Sponsors
Detailed budget estimates for the event (covering details on various major heads, amount committed by other sponsors).

About Co-sponsor

As the Bank sponsors the event partially, no application for event will be entertained without any co-sponsor(s).

Compliances

Institution will have to submit utilisation certificate issued by the Chartered Accountant within one month from the date of completion of the event along with the proceedings of the event.
In case of non-compliance within the said period, the Bank may reserve the right to reject the future requests from the concerned Institution.

IV. Scholarship Scheme for Faculty Members from Academic Institutions

The scholarship scheme for faculty members aims at bringing on board scholars, who would be able to take up and successfully pursue critical projects thereby contributing to the Bank’s research universe. The Reserve Bank invites full-time faculty members teaching economics or finance in any UGC-recognised institution in India to undertake short-term research in the areas of monetary and financial economics, banking, real sector issues and other areas of interest to the Bank.

The broad objectives of the scheme are:

To increase awareness about the activities of the Bank amongst faculty members and student community; and
To provide exposure to faculty members teaching economics and/or finance in different areas/activities in the Bank.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for the scheme are as follows:

Full-time faculty teaching economics and/or finance in any UGC-recognised academic institution in India.
Indian nationals.
Age below 55 years.
Preference will be given to the candidates who have not been awarded the scholarship earlier.

Theme

The major themes of research for the visiting faculty will be decided by the Bank.

Schedule of Scheme

The scheme would be operated every year.
The completed applications should reach the Bank within one month from the date of advertisement.
Interview of short-listed candidates would be held within a month after listing the eligible candidates.
Commencement of the scholarship scheme would be within three months from the date of selection of candidates.

Notification

The Bank reserves the right to choose the mode of communication to public, in any/all of the following ways:

Publishing advertisements in leading newspapers across India, including vernacular press.
Displaying the advertisement on the RBI website.
Sensitisation of full-time faculty of colleges/universities/other academic institutions through our Regional Directors.
Information sent directly to select universities/research institutions.

Submission of Application

The application in hard copy should be forwarded to the Director, Development Research Group, Department of Economic and Policy Research, 7th Floor, Central Office Building, Reserve Bank of India, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. The application should be sent along with detailed curriculum vitae (CV) and Research proposal of not more than 1000 words.
The application can also be sent in a soft version at email.

Number of scholars

A maximum of five faculties would be considered each financial year. The Bank, at its discretion, may vary the number of faculty for any year.

Duration of the Scheme

The duration of the project is maximum three months.

Facilities

The main facilities that will be made available includes:

Economy class return airfare from place of work in India and RBI Central Office, Mumbai.
Payment of monthly allowance for a period of three months. In addition to the monthly remuneration, on completion of the project/research paper and on acceptance of the same by the Bank, payment of honorarium will be made.

Location of the Scheme

The scheme would be mainly operational at Central Office Departments of RBI, Mumbai. In certain cases, the Reserve Bank may ask the selected candidate to conduct research at select Regional Offices of RBI also. However, Bank may provide the option to the candidates to work from their institution for the Study during the period of 2 to 3 months.

Responsibilities

The selected scholar will have the following responsibilities:

The scholar would be required to submit a research paper/project report that contributes to RBI research activities.
The scholar should make a presentation of his/her work in a Seminar at Reserve Bank, Mumbai.
The scholar, if he/she desires to publish his/her research work elsewhere, may do so with prior permission of the Reserve Bank.

Guidelines for publishing the research paper outside RBI

After completion of the project and subsequent submission of the final report, if the scholar desires to publish the study outside RBI, the following guidelines are to be followed by the scholar –

The paper should be published with the disclaimer that - “the views expressed in the study/paper are solely of the author and not of Reserve Bank of India”.
In case the scholar wants to acknowledge any names from Reserve Bank of India, it may be done only after seeking prior permission.
The said study should not be considered as a ‘RBI funded project’.

V. Programme Funding Scheme

The Programme Funding Scheme has been established to facilitate research projects of long-term nature which are of specific interest to the Bank. The Bank also encourages research activities on evolving areas, such as Digital Economy, Big data analytics, E-commerce, Climate change, Renewables, Fintech, Supply chain and Global spillovers. The Scheme will have the following features:

a. Annual plan of research programmes (including detailed budget) received from universities/research institutions will be processed
by DRG and put up to Top Management for consideration/approval.
b. Funding under the Scheme will be for a maximum period of three years.
c. The universities/research institutions receiving the grant will have to agree to the terms and conditions under the Scheme
d. Annual performance review will be carried out by the Bank.
e. Copyright for the research report will rest with the Bank.

VI. RBI Visiting Fellow Programme

The Reserve Bank of India has instituted the “RBI Visiting Fellow Programme” for experts from foreign central banks, international organizations, foreign universities, and other research bodies abroad. The key features of the program is furnished below:

The visiting fellow should have a Ph.D degree in economics or finance from a recognised foreign university and ideally have a minimum of three years of research experience abroad with a track record of publications in refereed scholarly journals.
The prospective visiting fellows need to send a research proposal of not more than 1000 words and a detailed curriculum vitae (CV).
The selection will be based on a joint evaluation of CV, letters of recommendation and the quality of research proposal. The shortlisted visiting fellows could be interviewed through video conferencing/call, if needed.
The successful visiting fellow will be able to complete the project independently or jointly with researchers in RBI at the central office in areas such as macroeconomic forecasting and analysis, monetary policy, banking/financial intermediation, financial stability, as well as other macro and structural issues relevant to India and emerging market economies.
The RBI will provide economy class return air fare, suitable accommodation during stay in Mumbai, a per-diem living allowance, and an honorarium to be paid after successful completion of the project.
The visiting fellow will have to complete the project in 2 to 3 months, not necessarily stationed in Mumbai for the full period. He/she should be able to spend at least half of the period in the central office in Mumbai in not more than two spells.
After completion of the project, the visiting fellow will present the research in a seminar at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the same will be published as RBI Working Paper and finally in Reserve Bank of India Occasional Papers.
Upto four visiting fellows could be considered in a financial year (July-June). RBI, at its discretion, may vary the number of visiting fellows for any year.
Application for the RBI Visiting Fellow Programme will be received throughout the year and the schedule could be worked out as per mutual convenience. Application along with CV and research proposal may be sent via email.

VII. Development Research Group Study Series

DRG Study Series are the outcome of collaborative efforts between the experts outside the Bank and the researchers within the Bank. These studies are released for wider circulation with a view to generate constructive discussion among professional economists and policymakers.

Initiation of DRG Studies

As Secretariat for DRG Study Series, all the proposals for DRG Study Series will be received and processed by DRG.

Assignment of DRG Study

The DRG Studies are assigned to external experts with an objective of undertaking quick and effective policy-oriented research of short-term periodicity, backed by strong analytical and empirical formulations, essentially on subjects contributing clarity and solutions to the challenges faced by the Bank.
The period of the Study should not, generally, exceed six months.
The responsibility for the Study rests with the external expert only.

Compensation

The grant amount for DRG Study may be finalised within the indicative range decided by the Bank. The honorarium amount will be released only after acceptance of the Study report by the Bank.
An allowance, as decided by the Bank, may be paid as per diem allowance to the external expert during his/her visits to the DRG, Central Office, Mumbai in connection with the Study.

Other Facilities

The Bank may provide restricted economy domestic air-fare ticket during visits to Central Office Mumbai.
Accommodation during their visit in Mumbai as decided by the Bank.
Local transport may be provided at the disposal of the external expert during his/ her stay or visit to Mumbai.
The Bank may not encourage more than two visits of the external experts to Mumbai depending upon the necessity, and each trip may not exceed two to three days at a stretch.

Peer Review

DRG Studies are refereed publications.
The comments of the referee will be forwarded to the external expert for his/her consideration.

Seminar

Internal team may be encouraged to present a Seminar on the Study, say after 3 months of commencing the Study, at the Central Office of the Reserve Bank, reflecting interim progress report.
Besides as indicated above, apart from a Seminar in the mid-term of the Project, DRG may arrange for the final Seminar of the Study before its submission to the Bank. Based on the feedback received, the Study may be firmed up by the Study team.

Publication

Copyright for the research Study rests with the Bank.

DRG Studies Completed